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251st Air Defense Artillery Regiment
The 251st Coast Artillery was a coast artillery regiment in the California National Guard. Lineage Constituted 1 November 1924 in the California National Guard as the 251st Coast Artillery (HD)(Coast Artillery Corps) as follows- * HHB from ? * 1st Battalion HHB from new * A Battery from E Battery 250th Coast Artillery * B Battery from F Battery 250th Coast Artillery * C Battery from H Battery 250th Coast Artillery * D Battery from new * 2nd Battalion from new Redesignated 251st Coast Artillery (AA) 1 January 1930. * inducted into Federal service 16 September 1940 at home stations * 3rd battalion constituted 27 May 1942 at Nadi, Fiji Islands Arrival of the regiment in Fiji was reported on 1 June 1942, 'more than doubling the anti-aircraft defences of Fiji.'California Military Museum 251st Coast Artillery, accessed June 2013. Regiment broken up 1 March 1944 as follows- * HHB as HHB 251st Antiaircraft Artillery GroupU.S. Army Center for Military History, http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/div/0079inbdect.htm * 1st Battalion as 746th Antiaircraft Artillery Gun Battalion * 2nd battalion as 951st Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion * 3rd Battalion as 140th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion The individual battalions were also broken up and redesignated. 746th Antiaircraft Artillery Gun Battalion inactivated 15 January 1946 at Camp Stoneman, California. Later the regiment became an air defense regiment, and was equipped with the Nike-Hercules missile. Elements which were to become part of the 251st Air Defense Artillery were under control of the Regular Army's 47th Artillery Brigade (Air Defense), part of Army Air Defense Command. The brigade's command post was at the Fort MacArthur Direction Center. In May 1959, the 720th ADA Battalion was redesigned as the 4th Missile Battalion (Nike-Hercules) 251st Artillery, California Army National Guard.http://www.fortmac.org/LANike2.htm Distinctive unit insignia * Description A Gold color metal and enamel device in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned: Or, six pallets couped Gules, a ship of Cabrillo’s time Argent; on a canton Azure a fleur-de-lis encircled by a garland of laurel of the first. Attached below and to the sides of the shield a Red scroll inscribed “WE AIM TO HIT” in Gold letters. * Symbolism The shield is red for Artillery. The six pallets couped produce a diminished bordure effect on the shield and represent the six batteries comprising the Regiment at the time of its organization. The ship is a representation of the ship of Don Juan Rodrigues Cabrillo, a Portuguese, who discovered San Diego Harbor. The charges on the canton, the fleur-de-lis encircled by a garland of laurel, are taken from the coat of arms of the 250th Coast Artillery, as Batter B of the 251st Coast Artillery, California National Guard, is a descendant of Batter F of the 250th Coast Artillery, California National Guard which served during World War I as B Battery of the 65th Coast Artillery (US). * Background The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 251st Coast Artillery (Harbor Defense) on 9 January 1928. It was amended to add the motto on 16 June 1928. It was redesignated for the 746th Antiaircraft Artillery Gun Battalion on 7 January 1952. The insignia was redesignated for the 251st Artillery Regiment on 16 February 1961. It was redesignated for the 251st Air Defense Artillery Regiment on 10 July 1972. See also *List of Nike missile locations References * * External links * James A. Sawicki, Antiaircraft Artillery Battalions of the U.S. Army (Volumes 1,2) 1991, ISBN 0-9602404-7-0 251 251 Category:Military units and formations established in 1924